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Starting a Small Business

Starting Small - Starting Small With an Idea and an Opportunity Can Lead to Big Profits and BIG Mistakes!

I love the saying: "Don't be afraid to go out on a limb because that's where the fruit is." I have always been a risk taker. Some risks have worked out better than others. I've lost my share of funds and have had my share of disasters but each and every one held a valuable lesson for me so I just chalked it up to paying for that education!

The Idea
In 1983 my twin sister and I decided to open our own business. Neither one of us had any extra money at the time but that didn't stop us. We had both been nail techs in a local beauty salon for a few years and realized that the city did not have have a single "Nail Shop", so we seized the opportunity to open one.

Having no real business experience didn't stop us either because we all know ignorance is bliss, right? To have a twin with as much business ignorance as you makes for a double scoop of bliss.

The Location
We found a great location in a small shopping center that had a space open. The rent was $300 a month and we thought we could swing it and make a profit if we brought in some more nail tech operators to rent space from us. The shopping center contained a cleaners, a dress shop, a uniform shop, and a beauty salon. We were a perfect fit since this was a high traffic area for women! How could we be anything but successful??

Getting the Money Together
We looked the place over and realized it would need some work on the inside. We also needed "stations" for the operators and we couldn't afford the manufactured kind so we decided to have some built from a carpenter we knew would give us a discount. All in all we tallied what our opening expenses would be and we figured we needed about $1500 each to open the business. I had to go to the bank to borrow my $1500.00 but Debbie, my twin sister, already had that amount saved.

Bad Credit Loan?

We didn't have any financial forecasts. We didn't have a business plan. What we had was notebook and some posty notes for ideas and how much money we would need. But we could FILL a notebook with our enthusiasm and our desire to be successful.

Choosing Our Business Name
Our next step was to decide on a fantastic name. We both agreed on "The Ultimate Nail and Body Care Shoppe". We now had a massage therapist, another nail tech, and a facialist, ready to lease space and become part of the business family.

Remodeling the Space Our Self
We did most of the cosmetic inside changes our self including getting new carpet for the shop from a carpet installation friend. He had just redone a big hotel and had the old carpet to get rid of. We bought it at a huge discount and he installed it for us if we gave his wife lifetime manicures. We agreed and within a week we had a brand new looking floor. We painted. Replaced trim and baseboards ourselves, made our own shop decorations, and were very pleased with our new handmade stations.

"Renaming" the Business
During the whole remodeling process, all of our friends, family, and shopping center neighbors kept calling the shop, "The Twins Nail Shop". After two weeks of hearing this from everyone, we decided not to fight it and renamed the business to "The Twins Nail Shoppe".

Even on the first day, customers would look at me, look at Debbie and then say, "Are you twins?" We would reply with "Yes. We are the owners and that's why it's called The Twins Nail Shoppe". They would always laugh and say, "OH!" I'm not sure if this had anything to do with our success but our whole life it has seemed that people get excited when they actually know a set of twins. Twins fascinate people.

The Grand Opening
Our next big step was the Grand Opening. We decided to cater it ourselves to save money and we printed all of our own invitations and were setup and ready to invite new customers. We were VERY excited! On opening night we had at least 200 people stop by, have refreshments and congratulate us on our new business venture. Our grand opening was huge success in our small town!

The Hepatitis Smorgasbord!
The next day we received terrible news. One of the ladies that came by found out she had hepatitis. Since she had been in all the finger foods, we had no choice but to contact everyone that had come to the grand opening and suggest they go get an immune globulin shot. We were devastated. We just knew we had been ruined right there in our Grand Opening.

We were very surprised that "everyone" received the news well and were very appreciative that we had contacted them right away. We were not ruined after all.

Getting the BOOT!
Our first 3 months went great. We were making a profit right from the start and word of mouth advertising was bringing in new customers everyday. We were feeling very successful and thinking we could probably retire sooner than we hoped!

Our "next door neighbor", the lady who owned the Uniform Shop was not happy. She had been leasing her space for 8 years and our new shop was annoying her. The walls weren't that thick and she could hear everything that went on in our shop. We weren't noisy but the dremels, ( a small drill), and laughter annoyed her. We knew this because she was constantly asking us to ask our clients to be quiet while getting their service done.

The next week we received a notice on our door telling us we had 3 days to evict the premises. The reason was the "sculptured nail smell". It was seeping into her shop she complained. We contacted the landlady and asked her how she could evict us when we had a 3 year lease? She stated that if we "annoyed" the neighbors, we could be evicted and the smell was annoying our neighbor. We offered to have a firewall installed between the two shops at our own expense but she said no. Later we found out why.

We first decided to get a lawyer and fight the eviction on the fact that several of the businesses in the center used "chemicals" including the cleaners and the beauty salon. How could they state the fact that the smell was coming only from us??? We were livid. We had just spent every penny of our money remodeling "their" building and after only 3 months we were being evicted. We also found out that she had already talked to a new tenant and was going to get a higher rent payment. Well why not? We did all the remodeling for her! That's why she rejected the firewall proposal.

Moving Out, Moving In
Networking. That's what I call it when you know your customers, know what they do for a living and know what their husbands do for a living. One of our customers was married to a builder. He just happened to have a building for lease only one block from our present address. He was willing to do any remodeling we needed at no extra charge and even said he would rent for the same price!

The new building was even bigger than our present salon and so we were enthusiastic about moving. It was also on one of the busiest streets in the small town. What luck!

We moved in exactly 3 days later. We stayed in our new shop for 6 years. Our business was so successful that we even installed a tanning bed and offered retail sales of beauty supplies and jewelry. After 5 years we sold our business for a profit. Life was good.

Your Business Idea
Any idea can be made into a business. You don't have to start with thousands of dollars. You can start small and with the Internet now being a global business place you can start a business even cheaper.

I started Digital Women with only 59.00. Today it makes enough profit to pay all my bills and save some. I started it as a labor of love. After my husband lost his job because of an accident that put him out of work for over a year, and after we lost everything, and I mean everything, I realized that women need to be financially independent through their own efforts and not depend on another's income.

What is your passion? What would you do to be happy the rest of your life? Would it be painting? Would it be fishing? Would it be teaching small children how to paint? What is it that you love to do?

You do not HAVE to work for someone else for the rest of your life!

You can start a business of your very own on a small scale and let it grow and then do it full time so that you can spend your time doing something you love. The opportunities are endless.

Moral of This Story
Do your homework. Have a backup plan. Put back some extra money for emergencies. Just moving our phone line, redoing our business cards, changing our address on all our printed material cost a fortune. Keep your enthusiasm. Sometimes obstacles become a path to victory. Don't lose sight of your end goal!

Joining Digital Women
Remember what I said earlier about networking? DW is one of the best places to get things done! We have hundreds of members willing to share their business startup expertise with you. With over 16,000 members, you can get help accomplishing anything. DW was built on word-of-mouth advertising.

I never spent one red cent advertising Digital Women. The reason it's so successful is because women are so willing to help each other.

If you are tired of the 9 to 5 or you are sick and tired of the office BS, and you are fed up with office politics and policies, then come join us! A business startup is easier than you think!